The altar’s pale seam widens beneath Ares, revealing descending steps cut into ancient stone. Above, Athena, Helios, and the militia captain, broad-shouldered with close-cropped brown hair, a weathered face, and a square jaw, remain at the council hall, guarding the entrance.
The black seal-stone rests beside the opening, Zukalina’s war sigil carved next to an older mark whose lines twist like roots around a broken crown.
A deep pulse travels upward through the conduit. Dust slips from the close chamber walls, and the pale fire along the altar flickers in answer.
Ares
The steps descend beneath the city.
The confined air grows colder as the stair reveals itself. Each step disappears into darkness, while the fissure behind Ares narrows to a silent black line.
Far below, stone grinds against stone. The older mark briefly glows, and a second pulse rises through the altar with enough force to tremble beneath his feet.
No ally follows into the buried passage. The chamber holds only Ares, the descending dark, and the conduit’s steady summons from beneath Corinth.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the buried conduit’s purpose
“Is Zukalina aware of this conduit?”
YES (Likely, rolled 40)
The older mark flares, and a hidden carving emerges along the altar’s edge: Zukalina’s war sigil, repeated beside offerings of blackened ash.
A narrow stone tablet slides from the altar and settles upright. Its carved record shows Zukalina standing before the conduit, her hand pressed to the broken crown.
Athena
She knew. This was not merely an invasion route. Zukalina came here before her army crossed the walls.
Above, Athena descends three steps, stopping short of the black fissure. Helios and the militia captain hold the hall entrance, weapons ready but silent.
Helios
Then her silence at the ash field was deliberate. She allowed the marks to spread because this place required them.
Athena
Zukalina may not command what sleeps below, but she opened the path knowingly.
The conduit pulses again, stronger now that its secret is exposed. Beneath Corinth, something answers the revealed sigil, while the ancient steps continue into darkness.
“I have Helios to evacuate the council hall while Athena and I examine the conduit for a way to seal it.”
FAILURE (Poor Reasoning, rolled +0)
Helios
Out of the hall! Move to the western steps, and leave the stones untouched.
Helios drives the defenders and any nearby attendants toward the entrance. The militia captain follows, sweeping the chamber with her drawn sword as Athena remains beside Ares at the altar.
The evacuation reaches the threshold, but the conduit pulses before the last defenders can pass. Stone folds across the doorway, sealing Helios and the militia captain outside while Athena and Ares remain below.
Athena
The conduit has divided the hall. It reacts to separation, not invasion. We must seal it from this side.
Athena kneels beside the altar and traces the older mark without touching it. Pale fire gathers around her fingers, then gutters where Zukalina’s sigil overlaps the broken crown.
Athena
The two marks are bound together. Removing one will widen the seam. We need to turn the war sigil against the conduit, not break it.
Below them, the stairs shudder and the pale seam opens another handspan. The tablet’s carved Zukalina bends toward the darkness, revealing a narrow socket shaped like a crown.
Quest Complete
Expose the buried conduit’s purpose